


IGPX: Unstoppable

by Legume_Shadow



Category: IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Inspired by Formula 1, Tagging as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 10:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18914698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legume_Shadow/pseuds/Legume_Shadow
Summary: A dangerous new team has entered IG-1, and is tearing apart the field.  Takeshi Jin and Alex "Cunningham" Hume, proxy soldiers on the circuit for their two coaches whose rivalry nearly tore apart the IG-1 so long ago, find themselves at a crossroad in the 2051 season.  Will they race the road of rivalry that has been tread a thousand times, or will they race in a road never taken?Note: fic is subject to slow updates...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First Publishing: May 2019, AO3  
> Disclaimer: All characters (except for the ones created by me) belong to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this work of fiction.
> 
> This fic partially ignores the ending of IGPX Season 2, namely: Andrei Rublev reconciling with his family, and Team Black Egg returning to IG-1.

 

**Prologue**

 

“Oh! And there goes River Marque, down for the count!” Benjamin Bright's voice crowed through the speakers. “That's it for Team Sledgemama, as it's now smooth sailing for Team Ember all the way to the finish line!”

As soon as the three mechas of Team Ember crossed the finish line, Bright continued to crow platitudes upon the winners of the latest race, but Takeshi could only stare blankly at the one screen that showed the three mechas of Sledgemama – or at least their remnants.

As eerie as it was, seeing the smoking heaps of twisted metal lying on the track, waiting for helicranes to lift them out of there, he couldn't find any words to say. Not only did Team Ember thoroughly beat down Sledgemama in a similar manner to what Velstein had done in their first battle against Satomi their first year, there had been no tricks behind that win.

Or at least none that Takeshi could follow or see.

Team Ember's mechas moved so fast that even the cameras had had trouble keeping up with the speed. All he had seen when Ember's mechas had engaged in battle during the second lap was just three pairs of blurred mechas going at each others' throats.

Takeshi knew that Sledgemama was one of the most dirty-trick playing teams in IG-1, but this... Ember completely wrecking the team's mechas, was something he had never seen any other team do. Not even White Snow had done that last year to Sledgemama.

Worse yet, Edgeraid _and_ White Snow had been taken down in such a similar fashion. Though he usually did not pay attention to the mechanics, especially to other teams' mechanics and their idle talk up and down the pit wall, there had been a constant refrain he had heard lately. Every mecha who had went up against Team Ember had returned so thoroughly wrecked that it had taken crews nearly an entire week without sleep to fix the machines for their next race. Edgeraid and White Snow had even had to hire more mechanics to help repair their machines.

Strangely enough, as bad as the mechas had looked after being put through the wringer on the track, the cockpits of all machines had not even been dented or touched by Team Ember's beat down. It was the only reason why that team had not been disqualified and kicked out – all the beaten pilots made it out from the wreckage and races unharmed.

It was only the sound of someone getting up from behind where he, along with Liz, Amy, and Luca were sitting that he snapped out of his fugue. “Coach?” Takeshi questioned, puzzled as to why their coach was here, never mind _when_ during the race Andrei Rublev had seated himself in the teams' viewing lounge.

His eyes were not the only ones to follow Andrei, as he saw him walk towards where Velstein's pilots were sitting. Though their three rival pilots had grim looks up their faces, it seemed that Andrei's actions had also startled the three. Takeshi narrowed his eyes slightly though, as he noticed that the three pilots had not been sitting alone – their coach, Sir Hamgra, had also taken a seat above the booth that the pilots had settled into. It seemed that Hamgra had noticed Andrei's approach, and rose in response.

Much to Takeshi's surprise – and to the others within the vicinity of the pilots' viewing booths – Andrei stopped short of entering Velstein's territory, and instead, waited for Hamgra to approach. “Truce?” Andrei immediately asked as soon as Hamgra had stopped, sticking out a hand.

“Truce.”

Takeshi blinked, his jaw dropping open as Hamgra clasped Andrei's hand and the two shook firmly. “The hell is going on?” he heard Liz mutter as he caught Velstein's pilots' surprised looks as well.

“Until Team Ember is beaten – no, until we can figure out how to beat Karl Mendez,” Andrei stated.

“Agreed.”

 

~*~*~*~

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

_Twelve weeks ago..._

 

“Welcome, to the 2051 Season of IG-1!”

Alex only managed to blink once as the spotlights lit up the stage where he, his teammates, and other fellow pilots of the premiere league of IG racing were standing. That was swiftly followed by the flashing bulbs of many cameras.

He maintained the smirk upon his face, not only because he was thoroughly enjoying himself at the start of the new season – he had so much to look forward to. Last year's battle against Team Satomi in the finals was one of the best fights he had ever had engaged in, and he was most definitely looking forward to facing off against the scrappy team again this year.

At the thought of the team, he flicked his eyes for a moment down the line towards where Satomi's three pilots were standing. Amusement flitted through his thoughts as he saw the three pilots jump and cheer at the announcement, enthusiastically waving at their fans within the crowds. They certainly were an immature-looking bunch, if one did not know just how good they were.

Alex and his team had never underestimated them, but other teams had – and paid dearly for that.

His smirk got slightly wider as he raked his eyes up and down Satomi's lead pilot for a moment. Though outwardly the same; lithe, powerful, and good-looking, it seemed that Takeshi Jin had grown a few inches over the racing season's break.

While that wouldn't have affected anything mechanical in the cockpit except for a resize, in a mental stance, those couple of inches were bound to affect how the pilot carried himself. That was most likely going to translate into stronger, possibly faster attacks. He was glad that he had researched and trained in a couple of Eastern martial arts over the break.

Alex immediately returned his attention to the forefront as Benjamin Bright, the announcer and MC of the overall IG circuits stopped before he and his teammates after announcing Edgeraid and Sledgemama's line up. Bright announced, “Returning for their sixth season is Team Velstein, with the same line up they had previously: Cunningham, Jan, and Dew. Cunningham, do you have anything to say?”

Alex took the microphone from Bright and spoke into it, saying, “Team Satomi better watch themselves. We're going to do everything we can to take the title of 'best' back from them! We weren't three time champions for nothing!”

The roars of cheering fans, along with the boos from Satomi fans enveloped the hall as he returned the microphone to Bright. Bright then said, “Now that's a battle to look forward to in the season, folks!”

As the MC made his way down to get a word from Team White Snow, Alex thought he had done right in his words. Velstein had won the championship three times, and Satomi only had two under their belt. After the last two years' fights, and finally understanding Sir Hamgra's relentless and ruthless push to try to beat Satomi (his own thrill of a good fight not withstanding), Alex knew that the team was here to stay.

He was well aware that Sir Hamgra looked to them as pawns in the overall game against Satomi's Andrei 'The Rocket' Rublev, but it was he and his teammates, not Sir Hamgra, who raced. The three of them would decide how and when to pull the trigger, using the overall strategies that their coach and manager gave them.

“This is going to be a fun season,” Alex heard Dew softly comment from beside him.

“Indeed it will be,” he agreed, though did not get to say anything further as Bright's introduction of the newest team to move up from IG-2 to IG-1 drew his attention.

“Introducing Team Ember!” Bright cheerfully announced. “They're the winners of last year's IG-2. Meet forward: Lee Mendez, midfielder: Eryn Song, and defender: Jake Creighton!”

“Wow, she's hot,” Jan suddenly whispered, having stood on the other side of him.

Alex glanced down the line, his eyes seeking out the newest team in IG-1, as Dew asked, “Which one?”

“The dark and fair one,” Jan said. “You know my preferences. Their forward.”

Alex took in the three new pilots, noting just how calm and cool they looked – unlike the open giddiness that Satomi's pilots had displayed on their debut, or the subtle giddiness of White Snow last year.

There were smiles on their faces, but it didn't reach their eyes. He could read the seriousness in the way the three pilots held themselves – especially the calm control their forward, Mendez, carried around her.

At once, a rather strange, comforting, yet dangerous image popped up into his thoughts, and Alex did not try to quash it. In fact, he embraced it, as he felt a rush of adrenaline feed that anticipation of yet another good fight to be had.

He had not paid attention to IG-2's races in the past year, but now wished he did. He would have to review the footage, for unlike his rival, Takeshi Jin, the young lead pilot of Team Ember looked like she did not miss anything in that piercing gaze of hers. That was the look of a strategist, one that he knew that he and his team should not take lightly.

As unpredictable as Satomi always was during their battles, there was an unabashed brashness that Alex knew he could count on, coming from Takeshi. Team Ember... that was another story.

“She's a viper, Jan,” Alex stated, as he caught Mendez's keen look down the line for a brief moment, and grinned. “Best you be careful not to get bitten.”

“Anything to say, Team Ember?” Bright asked.

Alex watched as Mendez took the microphone and spoke into it, saying, “We look forward to this debut season and challenging all the teams for the championship.”

Twelve weeks later, a most unusual and unlikely alliance was born between Team Satomi and Team Velstein...

* * *

_Present..._

 

“Coach, what the hell was that?!

Takeshi thumped down on the chair, his eyes tracing the path of their coach into the room. As the door swished closed, enveloping he, Liz, Amy, along with Ms. Satomi, Jesse, and Mark in the silent room, he waited for Andrei to say something.

Liz had stated what they were all wanting to say, and there was no need to pile it on. Surely Andrei had a reason to boldly propose the impossible, after all, the rumors about the falling out from long ago that he heard about their coach and Velstein's coach were all but true.

“Before you get your knickers in a twist, Ms. Satomi had already approved of it,” Andrei began, looking at them with a seriousness that he had never seen before. “Neither of us knew if Hamgra would accept it though, hence why it was done in public and in front of all six of you. We wanted the answer to be crystal clear.”

“But, but, Velstein?!” Liz protested. “We're supposed to fight them in four weeks!”

“And we still will,” Andrei answered. “This is a temporary truce, something Hamgra and I need to put our heads together to figure out how to beat Team Ember... or more specifically, their coach, Karl Mendez.”

“Both of you know him?” Takeshi asked, unease crawling up his stomach. He had heard correctly in that pilots' viewing room – Andrei had specifically called out the coach of Team Ember's name, not the team itself.

Andrei was silent for a few moments before saying, “Before our disagreements escalated to the breaking point, Hamgra and I were on the same team. I was forward, he was defender. You all know that there is a third pilot in the teams, the midfielder. That pilot was Karl Mendez.”

“Yeah, so what?” Liz interrupted, looking a little annoyed.

“Liz!” Amy admonished.

“Raw talent wasn't enough to get by back in the day, when they had heavy regulations on how the mechas could be built and set up. With virtually all mechas the same, to win a race, you needed talent _and_ strategy. Our strategist wasn't our coach, it was Karl.”

Takeshi frowned, “So all we need to do is study Ember's plays--”

“It's not going to work, kid,” Andrei stated, folding his arms over his chest while shaking his head slightly. “Each time Hamgra, Karl, and I stepped out onto the track, was a different play. That's the same here – no two races or fights within those races are the same for Team Ember. They don't have any tricks up their sleeves to help them either.

“Ember fights purely on strength and teamwork alone. They're not like Sledgemama or White Snow with their mecha gadgets. If I'm correct, then Karl's daughter is the lead pilot for Ember. You've all already seen that Lee Mendez has the same talent for strategy on the fly – that makes her and her coach double trouble.”

“So, why are we teaming up with Velstein?”

“Because neither Hamgra or I had ever outplayed or out think Karl before. Believe me, back in the day, we tried. But after Hamgra and I decided our pissing match was more important than winning, Karl left, breaking the team apart. I don't know what he had been doing these past years, but fighting against him and a team that has him as a coach would be something even I would never wish upon my worst enemy.”

Andrei paused for a moment, scrubbing his face with his hands. “You've all seen and heard how thoroughly trashed the mechas are after going up against Ember. I'm not going to let you guys go into battle and race against that team without giving you everything that I can give you – that includes this unholy alliance with Velstein.”

Their coach fell silent after that declaration, though Takeshi could not help but feel incredibly apprehensive. He had thought that the despair they had felt after Velstein had beaten them in their first battle in the first season was bad, but this felt incredibly worse. The tone that their coach had taken, and the words he had spoken told Takeshi that even Andrei was at a complete loss on how to beat Team Ember.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Liz quoted. “Or rather, ally for now.”

However... if it took them working with Velstein to beat such a team, then they would have to swallow their pride and do it. Takeshi stood up, startling everyone in the room. “When do we start?”

* * *

_Twelve weeks ago, at the season opening reception..._

 

Alcohol was offered to all of those past the legal drinking age, but Alex never acquired the taste of it. Nor did he ever acquire the taste of mingling in with dignitaries, sponsors, and fellow pilots in the annual season opener reception. He left that to Jan and Dew to initially meet with their sponsors while he enjoyed the outdoors, before he knew that he would have to head back in to do his duties for the team.

As much as Alex loved the fame and attention that went with being the best pilot in the entire IG circuits, he hated the distance that it had created between him and what most would consider a normal life.

As isolated as he had been during his childhood and growing up, his only chance at a normal life wasn't what even he knew one would consider normal. His oft-absent parents had decided to sent him to a specialized school to finish out his education – to 'get a taste of the world' as he had heard his father say.

It had been at that school that his eyes had been opened to the world, and also when he had been introduced to the IG circuits. But as much debauchery as one thought Alex would have participated in, while abroad and away from his tutors and caretakers, he thought his 'wild days' were rather tame. Not at least compared to the torrid stories he occasionally (and secretly) read about many other celebrities via various tabloids.

At the thought of tabloids and their sensational, exaggerated stories, Alex glanced down from the dark, glittering sky and back into the reception hall. He could barely see the dance floor, but caught a familiar tuft of black hair within the crowds.

Laughing internally to himself, he still found the tabloid articles that he had read of Takeshi and Skylark's forward, Fantine Valjean, incredibly hilarious. Sordid rumors after sordid rumors had taken up pages, and even spilled into the legitimate new sites. Still, the pages that the two 'hopelessly' love-struck pilots had filled was at least a good distraction from the usual annoying rumors the tabloids printed about him.

“Rival, or secret boyfriend? Or both?”

Alex blinked, surprised that he had been caught unawares out on the balcony, as he glanced over to his right to see the lead pilot of IG-1's newest team, Ember, stand a respectable distance just outside of his personal space. Very few had ever been able to ever catch him unaware, especially since he had started piloting the mechas on the IG circuit. He had always been the one to size his opponents up, catching them unaware, rather than be a victim of such a play.

The corners of his lips quirked up as he raked his eyes up and down the body of Ember's forward. Memories of long ago were flooding back with that simple action. Alex remembered the profile of the person in front of him a little differently than what was presented now.

Ember's forward pilot wasn't curvaceous (at least not to what he knew Jan's preferences for women were), but there was some slight definition of muscle in those sinewy bare arms of hers. The evening gown she wore was subtle and muted in color and design; designed to not stand out, but also make a good, proper impression on strangers. But all of that was only on the outside – surface impressions deliberately shown to catch people off guard.

Once a viper, always a viper though – Alex would never forget that.

“You've changed, Lee,” he softly stated.

“You like it, Alex?” she answered, a challenging yet impish smile that had been burned into his memory of a time before the IG circuits had consumed his life, worked its way up to the forefront.

“I'm glad,” he answered. “You look more comfortable now.”

“I am,” she said, nodding once. “Had the surgery and all the pills that go with it after graduation.”

“Anyone give you hell for it?” Alex asked, just a touch concerned.

Even if that part of his life was over, he knew and sympathized with just how difficult life had been for her back then. Alex amended that thought slightly: life had been difficult for both them when they had attended that school, but her so more than him. He genuinely felt glad that before she had disappeared from his life, she had finally found her true self.

“A few,” she stated, shrugging a little carelessly. “But they can go suck my dick.”

He couldn't help but laugh a little at that comment. There were so many levels of irony within that one statement that he found it extremely amusing that she would use it now.

However, as quick as the laughter had erupted from him, Alex quashed it – it wouldn't do for his own reputation to be seen as being too friendly with a rival pilot. He had too much experience to not fall into the hormonal trap that Takeshi had fallen into with Skylark's forward.

“So,” she said, tilting her head slightly towards the reception hall. “Boyfriend, rival, or both? You specifically called Jin's team out on that stage.”

Alex couldn't help but snort before saying, “It's nothing like Valjean's fling with him. Rival. Just like you are now one as well. Never knew you had an interest in IG circuits, Lee.”

“We've always been rivals, Alex,” she stated, giving him a smile full of teeth. “It never died, and it never will.”

He answered that challenging smile with one of his own, the familiar giddiness in anticipation of a good fight rising up within him. This season was definitely one for his own books – two challengers, both familiar to him, and both as unpredictable as the wind.

“Welcome to the big leagues, Lee. You're going to regret stepping into this place,” Alex stated.

“Bold words, for someone who knows what I'm capable of.”

 

~*~*~*~

 


End file.
